The human impact of poor indoor air quality

A new report launched at Parliament House last week has highlighted the human impact of poor indoor air quality, framing it as an access and inclusion issue.

The event, organised by the Safer Air Project, brought together leaders from engineering, public health, facilities management, economics, trade unions and politics. It included testimonies from people who have experienced health problems and who are limited in how they access indoor spaces because they cannot rely on good air quality.

The report points out that it is not a small minority of the population who face increased risks from poor indoor air quality. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in two Australians have at least one chronic health condition, and women are more likely to have at least one chronic condition than men.

Safer Air Project CEO and Founder Plum Stone shared the challenges her own family has faced because of unsafe indoor air.

“People living with high-risk conditions like cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, kidney disease, cardio-vascular disease, asthma and many more, are not rare, and we are not isolated,” said Stone. “We’re in every room, in every workplace, in every school, and we should all be able to breathe without risk of harm.

“Over the last few years it’s become clear to me that we face an accessibility and inclusion issue, as a result of poor indoor air quality that increases our risk of exposure to airborne pathogens and other pollutants. Solving this problem could therefore be addressed by applying the same frameworks that already exist to ensure the presence of other accessibility features. In other words, it’s time to recognise improving indoor air quality as an accessibility feature, and make our shared air safer for everyone to breathe. Because the burden of responsibility for staying safe shouldn’t rest with the high-risk and immuno-compromised person, especially when that person is a child, and we all share the same air.”

Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health, also spoke at the launch.

“The Safer Air Project’s vision is to create a world where everyone can breathe indoors safely,” she said. “The report advocates for safer indoor air quality as a critical accessibility and inclusion issue for people living with chronic health conditions. And this is bringing a whole new impetus to the issue that we have been grappling with over the last couple of years.”

The report, and a full recording of the launch, are available at the Safer Air Project website.

Photo, courtesy of Safer Air Project, shows (L-R) Safer Air Project Director Amy Lewis, Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP, Safer Air Project CEO and Founder Plum Stone, and Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health